Walls Only Hurt
by JellyNellie
Summary: Callie has an experience one night that causes her to put her walls up between her and Stef and Lena. The moms try their best to figure out why and to break them back down again and tell Callie that walls don't keep you protected, but walls only hurt.
1. Playground Bliss

**Everyone always asks me to write more and says that they wish all my stories were more than one shots, so here you go! I hope you enjoy.**

The Adams-Foster clan decided to have a fun Sunday afternoon and spend some much needed time together. They headed out in their cars for the movie theater. Five minutes in the ride, Brandon speaks up.

"Uh… hey moms?"

"Yes love" Stef answers

"I um… I just realized that I was looking at the wrong movie showing time. The 2:35 showing I looked up the other day was for weekdays, not the weekend. Looks like it was really the 1:30 showing we were supposed to make"

"Well that's fine love, when is the next one?" Stef asks.

"Seven o'clock" he answers. Everyone looks a bit taken aback and Jesus sitting in the back seat breaks the awkward silence.

"Way to go dweeb! You have us driving around for nothing!" he shouts while he moves his hand to hit his brother on the shoulder.

"Hey hey Jesus! Stop it come on now!" Stef interrupts. "Well we should pull over and let the others know so we can figure out something else to do" she adds.

They turn onto the next street which leads to another neighborhood and Stef pulls over with her hazard lights on. Lena, driving the other car follows as well as she sees Stef, Brandon, and Jesus getting out of the car.

"What's going on Mama?" Jude asks.

"I'm not sure honey, let's check" she replies.

Everyone gets out of both cars and meets on the sidewalk. Jesus is the first to speak up.

"Beethoven here had the wrong showing time for the movie, so we missed it."

"The next one isn't until seven o'clock" Brandon admits feeling embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with Lena, Callie, Mariana, and Jude.

"That's okay, I didn't really want to see that weird Claymation movie anyways. Nobody needs a 'Claymation the Movie: Part 5' anyways!" Mariana admitted.

"Now we just need to find something else to do is all. What do you guys think?" Lena asked. Mariana shot up her hand as if she was being called on in school. "We could go shopping! That's always a fun thing to do!"

 **"No!"** everyone shouted immediately.

"Anything but that. This is supposed to be something _fun_." Jesus teased as Mariana rolled her eyes and flipped her hair in response.

"What about the beach?" Stef asked.

"I feel like we always go there since we go to school on the beach" Mariana stated.

"Plus I don't feel like fighting off seagulls today" Callie added, making everyone nod and chuckle. In the midst of everyone making a decision, Jude peeked over to a spot a little further to where they were standing. He was eyeing a playground that seemed way too big to be just for kids. His gazing off and small smile spread across his face didn't go unnoticed by Callie.

"What do you think Jude?" she asked as the whole family paused their bickering. Jude looked back to everyone who was facing him waiting for an answer. He was embarrassed to admit that he had only enjoyed playing on playgrounds as a child before his mother had died. He didn't want everyone to know that he wanted to feel like a kid again; like back when he and Callie had no troubles in the world.

"Um… I'm not really sure" he lied. Stef turned around and looked toward where Jude's eyes previously were. She noticed the playground and didn't see anything else. She turned back and saw Jude, with his shoulder raised to his ears and his eyes looking towards the ground. After a moment, she spoke up.

"I see a playground over there if anyone wanted to go. Looks life fun". Jude was surprised by her response and looked up at her in disbelief. It was then that Callie knew that that was what he was looking at. She smiled as she remembered the days their mom would take them to the playground, and they would pretend the whole place was either a boat or a castle, or anything else they could think up. She rubbed Jude's shoulders and smiled at him. He looked over at his sister, and his embarrassment started to fade.

"It does look pretty big I guess. Maybe we can get food and have a picnic there later" Mariana chimed in.

"Are you kidding me? What kind of afternoon is that?" Jesus complained as Mariana hit him.

"Oh whatever Jesus, don't be so mean! I think it would be nice to play like we used to as kids" Mariana defended.

"Yeah why not. It'll be more fun than shopping" Brandon teased. Lena and Stef both laughed as they looked to each other in agreement as they went to go turn off their cars. Stef walked back up on the sidewalk where the teens were. "Well, what is everyone waiting for? Last one over is a rotten egg!" Stef yelled as she started running towards the playground about 50 yards away. Everyone looked towards each other with smiles on their faces and started racing to catch up. Stef and Jesus were the first ones to make it there, with Lena and Mariana being the last ones.

Jude ran over to the swings and yelled "Callie, looks! Let's fly again!" Callie followed and got on the swing right next to him. They both began to laugh and pump their legs to see who could go higher. Lena observed and smiled as she saw that this was something Callie and Jude used to enjoy doing. Lena and Stef always enjoyed when they could get a look into their kids' lives before they met them. Jesus and Brandon were racing each other down the slides, trying not to get stuck, and Mariana began to join Callie and Jude.

"Come on moms, join the fun! We'll even push you!" Jude exclaimed! Stef and Lena moved over to the swings as Jesus and Brandon moved over to the spring horses, leaning back trying to touch their backs to the ground. Callie and Jude taught the moms and Mariana the game they used to play on the swings, as they all cycled through, trying to see who could fly the highest while keeping their eyes closed and their heads tipped back.

"Woah, this is too dizzy for me" Stef admitted as she slowed down the swing.

"Me too. This is definitely for young people" Lena added.

"I'm going to go and get us some food so we can have a picnic like Mariana requested" Stef stated.

After 30 minutes, she came back with sandwiches, chips, juice, and fruit. Everyone gathered around a nearby picnic bench and began to dig in. Mariana played music from her phone as they chatted about the fun they had been having for the past 2 hours.

It was a perfect moment where their Sunday afternoon had seemed like the only thing that mattered. Jesus tried to see how many grapes he could catch as he tossed them in the air as Jude clapped for him impressed. Callie sat there and took in the moment; she hadn't experienced a feeling like this in a very long time. Stef watched as she saw a smile grow on Callie's face. She reached her hand out and rubbed Callie's back, giving her a wink and a smile as well. Callie took a deep breath and leaned over to rest her head on her mom's shoulder. Stef wrapped her arm around Callie as they both laughed at the sight of Jude trying to catch grapes in his mouth too. Lena spoke up.

"You know what would make this day even better? If we had some ice cream to top it all off". The shocked faces that turned towards Lena were soon replaced with nods and scrambles of cleaning up to head to the car.

On the way there, Callie's shoes were untied without her knowledge. Everyone else had rushed to the car in excitement for getting ice cream. Stef was about to say something when Callie stepped on her shoelace and began to stumble. Stef saw that she was going to tumble down off of the sidewalk and onto the road. Stef jumped over and grabbed the back of Callie's shirt, trying her best to pull her back up. She got a hold of Callie's arm with her other hand and helped her up.

"Your shoe is untied Bug. You alright? That was a close one".

"Yes, thank you. I'm okay… You didn't have to go out of your way to catch me" Callie responded tying her shoe. When she stood back up, Stef placed her arms on Callie's shoulders.

"Hey love, look at me". Callie met eyes with Stef. "I'll always be there for you. Nothing is ever out of the way for me when it comes to you."

Callie looked down, nodding her head and smiling at Stef's comment. Stef placed her hand under Callie's chin to raise it so their eyes met once again.

"I love you sweets" Stef said as she squeezed Callie's shoulders.

"I love you too mom" Callie answered. Stef smiled at the last part, as she always loved hearing her children call her that.

"Hurry up you two! Ice cream awaits us!" Mariana shouted out the window. Callie and Stef both shook their heads and headed towards the car. Callie climbed in next to Jude. As the car rolled off, Callie and Jude turned around to get one last look at the playground; one last look at what reminded them of their life when it was considered "normal". Now their time with the Adams-Fosters was their new normal, and something Callie was still fully getting used to.

 **I hope you've enjoyed chapter one. Stef's line "I'll always be there for you" will pop back up very soon in the upcoming chapter where things begin to take a twist. I appreciate reviews and suggestions!**


	2. A Ghost of the Past

The fun day at the park had ended and with everyone enjoying their ice cream and relaxing at home together watching a movie with blankets huddled up. Once the night had come and everyone was ready for bed, Callie went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water and found Lena and Stef sitting there talking about the fun they had that day.

"Oh hey sweets. Need anything?" Lena asked.

"I'm okay, I'm just getting a glass of water… Also, I just wanted to say thanks so much for today. Jude seemed to really enjoy himself and he really appreciates it." she responded as she finished filling up her glass with water.

Stef and Lena smiled and looked at each other. "Oh, 'Jude' appreciates it, huh?" Stef asked as she pulled Callie into her side.

"It looks like you seemed to really have fun today too. I mean, you were only the most enthusiastic one on the swings" Lena smirked, causing Callie to chuckle.

"Yes, I appreciated it too. It's been so long since Jude and I have had a chance to play like we used to. I felt like a kid again, with no care in the world" Callie admitted. Stef rubbed her back and nodded her head.

"Well that's so great to hear. We felt young again too seeing you all play on the playground so freely with wide smiles on your face". They all nodded and smiled at the memories of that day.

"Well thanks again. I'm gonna head to bed now" Callie stated as she moved to hug her moms.

"Night mama"

"Goodnight my love" Stef replied kissing Callie on the temple.

"Night mom"

"Goodnight Cals. Sweet dreams" Lena answered also kissing Callie on the forehead.

Callie grabbed her glass of water and headed up the stairs where Mariana was pulling the covers up. She smiled at Callie as she entered.

"What a day, huh?" Mariana asked as Callie got a sip of water and climbed into bed.

"Yeah, it was pretty fun" Callie replied.

"I still think it would've been better if we went shopping too"

"Whatever, go to sleep!" Callie commented as she threw a pillow in Mariana's direction, soon to have it thrown back at her.

The girls laughed and turned off the lights. They both fell asleep easily, as did the whole house. Dreams soon followed, and Callie's tonight was a peculiar one.

 _"Are you sure I can have two scoops of ice cream?" Callie asked looking up to Stef and Lena, who seemed much taller to her. After a glance around the room, she realized that she was much shorter than she was, similar to when she was around 10 years old._

 _"Sure you can sweetie! Today is a special day after all" Stef answered. Callie laughed as she looked over to see a younger Jude piling his favorite toppings on his ice cream. The 4 of them sat down at a table near the shop window and enjoyed their ice cream._

 _"Slow down Callie, or you'll get a brain freeze!" Lena explained. Suddenly the dream jumped to the 4 getting out of the car going into their house (that didn't really look like the home Callie knew which usually happened in all her dreams). Callie was racing her brother up to the door of the house, and Callie's coat pocket suddenly got caught on the porch beam. She was suddenly stuck and suspended by the roof over the porch._

 _"Mom! Mama! Help me!" Stef and Lena looked up at Callie hanging on the edge of the roof by her jacket pocket._

 _"Hold on Callie, we got you!" Stef yelled. Callie then fell from the roof and landed with her upper body in Lena's arms, and her lower body in Stef's._

 _"You caught me" Callie said as she caught her breath._

 _"Yes of course we did. We wouldn't let you fall" Lena stated._

 _"Mama's right love. Remember that we'll always be there for you. Whenever you need us" Stef added with a smile._

 _They put Callie down and started to head inside when something caught the corner of Callie's eye. With Stef and Lena ahead of her, Callie turned around to see someone very familiar standing in the yard: her birthmother Colleen._

 _"M…Mom?" Callie whispered confused. Stef and Lena were inside and it was just Callie and her birthmother outside. Collen walks up onto the porch where Callie is._

 _"How could you do this to me Callie? How could you forget about me?" she asks._

 _"I… I didn't, I couldn't forget you" Callie defended._

 _"Why didn't you call me when you needed me? You were about to fall off the roof, and you chose them over me?" Collen asked in both a hurt and upset tone._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Callie replied with tears forming in her eyes._

 _"Why did you abandon me Callie? What happened to us? You used to need me for everything!" Colleen began to shout. "What about your mother Callie! I gave birth to you and I raised you! I taught you so many things and you so easily forget about me?!"_

 _Callie stood there crying as her knees began to feel weak. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"_

 _"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT CALLIE! YOU COULDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE TO ME!"_

Callie woke up startled, sweating, and slightly out of breath. The words her birthmother screamed at her continued to ring around in her head. She did feel like she abandoned her for needing Stef and Lena for things in life, and for depending on them and trusting them. " _I used to be stronger and not let anyone in but Jude"_ she thought to herself. She looked over to make sure Mariana was still asleep before grabbing her glass of water and taking a few sips. She set the glass down and sighed, feeling disappointed in herself for letting her birthmother down. Callie decided things needed to change…

 **That's it for this chapter! I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated and welcomed. I wonder how Callie will react when she gets up in the morning? Stay tuned to find out.**


	3. Laying Down the Bricks

**Chapter 3- Laying Down the Bricks**

Breakfast time was busy in the Adams-Foster household as it usually was, so no one really noticed that Callie was distant. She kept her head down and ate some cereal without really speaking to anyone. When it came time for everyone to leave for work and school, the change in her attitude was notable.

"Goodbye my loves. Have a great day at school" Stef said as she moved about hugging and kissing each of her children as she always did while they walked out the door. Callie tried her best to be the first one out to avoid this encounter, but she failed as Jesus beat her to it.

"Bye mom!" he said giving her a hug and kiss quickly while dashing out to the car. "I call shotgun!"

Callie tossed her backpack over her shoulder and attempted to breeze past Stef who was standing at the doorway. As Stef saw Callie approaching, she couldn't help but smile and hold her arms out for an inviting hug.

"Bye Slug-a-Bug! Have a good day at school today" Stef stated. As she finished her sentence, she noticed Callie was trying to move past her.

"Hey, no hug or anything?" she asked. Callie stopped and hid her sigh as she reached one arm out for a lousy hug, only to be embraced by Stef. She hated that she loved her hugs at this moment, as it wasn't making it easier for her to keep her distance. All she could think was her dream with her birthmother standing in the front yard with a look of disappointment. As Stef released Callie from the hug, Callie glanced over towards the front yard just to see if it were possible. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Stef.

"Well I know Mondays aren't always the most fun days, but you'll get through it". Callie glanced at Stef and gave a fake smile and continued to walk out to the car.

"Love you!" Stef shouted as Callie's feet seemed to move like lightning in their front lawn.

"Mhmm" was all Callie managed to say. She sat in the car and sighed, looking out of the window waiting for the moment when she could be alone.

Around lunch time, Lena's phone rang. She looked to see it was Stef.

"Hey. How's your day going?" Lena asked.

"It's going fine. Same old stuff happening here. What about yours?" Stef asked.

"Uh, just about the same here as well. We had a student go to the nurse because he thought he could shove an eraser up his nose and be able to blow it out" Lena chuckled.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I couldn't help but laugh. You would think as a middle schooler he would know that that wasn't a smart decision"

"Haha yeah, but didn't we all make decisions we thought were dumb?" Stef added. "How are our babies doing?"

"Everyone is doing well" Lena answered.

"I noticed Callie seemed a little off this morning when I was saying goodbye to her. I don't know if something happened, or if it's just a Monday thing or what."

"Yeah, she seemed quiet this morning getting out of the car. Maybe just a Monday thing, but I'll check on her and let you know" Lena replied.

"Thanks, have a great day" Stef stated.

Lena left to find Callie at lunch, and eventually found her sitting on a bench in a hallway on her phone.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you" Lena stated.

Callie held her breath as she saw Lena approaching. She chose not to say anything and to continue to scroll through the photos in her phone.

"What's up? Finished lunch already?" Lena asked.

"Yup" Callie lied. She hadn't eaten lunch, and wasn't planning to.

"Well, I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing. You seemed pretty quiet this morning getting out of the car"

Callie continued to scroll through her phone trying to ignore Lena and look busy, but she knew her plan wasn't working.

"Hello? I'm talking to you" Lena stated.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine" Callie insisted, planting another fake smile on her face. Lena knew something wasn't right as Callie answered the way she did.

"Callie, you don't really seem yourself hun. What's wrong?"

"Nothing really. I think I'm just tired today" Callie lied again as she began to stand up. "I have to use the bathroom" she stated as she walked away, leaving Lena alone on the bench.

Lena sat there for a moment more trying to figure out if it really was the Monday blues or if it was something more than that. She decided to text Stef and let her know she had checked on Callie.

 _Hey. Just checked on Callie. Seems like she's in a Monday mood, but may be something more. Not sure. Going to check on the rest of the kids. –Lena_

Callie locked the bathroom stall and leaned against it, sighing. She knew that after that conversation, Stef and Lena were going to be all over her trying to figure out what was wrong. A big part of her felt bad for not really speaking to either of her moms today. " _Why did you abandon me Callie? What happened to us?"_ were the words that began to ring in Callie's ears. How could she feel bad for not speaking to them when she had felt like she abandoned her mother? _"I gotta get moms out of my head. They're Stef and Lena"_ Callie tried to convince herself. She pushed the feeling of loving Stef's hug that morning out of her mind, as well as loving that Lena went out of her way to find Callie and sit with her. She couldn't love those things anymore, she needed to love her mom; she needed to love her birthmother again and feel like she had never left.

That evening at dinner, Callie kept quiet just like earlier, but tried to smile or pretend to laugh at others' comments to seem like her usual self. Her chore that night was taking out the trash, one which for the first time ever she was thankful for since it allowed her an excuse to get away and then sneak upstairs to be in her room away from Stef and Lena. About an hour later, Jude knocked on the girl's room. Callie knew Jude's knock and welcomed him in.

"Come in Jude"

"Hey Callie. Moms asked me to come get you"

Callie stiffened up, knowing that she was dreading the talk they were about to have. "Thanks" was all Callie managed to get out as Jude nodded and went to his room. She got up reluctantly and took her time leaving her room and going down the stairs. She found them both sitting in the living room waiting for her.

"Hey love. We wanted to talk to you real quick" Stef stated.

Callie stood at the boundary of the living room, not moving forward and crossing her arms. She dug her nails into her arm to keep a neutral face. She had to remember to stay strong.

"Okay, well I have homework to finish." She responded blankly.

"Alright, well we just wanted to ask you if anything has been going on or if anything is bothering you." Lena mentioned.

"And you know you can tell us or ask us anything, yes?" Stef added.

"Nothing is wrong, I told you earlier I was tired, and still am, which is why I'm trying to finish my homework so I can go to bed." She pointed out. Lena and Stef could sense the attitude in her voice.

"We understand, but you haven't seemed like yourself at all today." Lena went on.

Callie dug her fingernails deeper into the inside of her arm as she remembered her mother's words in the dream. "I already told you, I just want to sleep" she spat.

"Hey, there's no reason for that tone. We just want to make sure you are okay. We will always be here for y-" Stef replied, but was interrupted by Callie's outburst.

"I don't need to be coddled, every moment of the day! I will be okay when I can sleep!" Stef and Lena were both taken aback by the ferocity in Callie's voice and how she suddenly changed moods.

"Excuse me young lady? You wanna try rethinking what you just said, because I know you can be better than that." Stef warned.

Callie was facing a battle within herself. She so desperately wanted to apologize and run into their arms; since experiencing abuse in the foster system, she had never imagined that she and Jude would find a family like the one they now had that was loving and never gave up on them. Each time she thought about this, her birth mother's disappointed face was all she could see in her mind, and this was what was making Callie fight back and push herself away from Stef and Lena; she believed she had to do this for her mom. She believed she had to show her allegiance some way, and that was by building walls between herself and Stef and Lena.

"Nope" Callie answered seriously. "I'm going to bed. This is a waste of my freaking time" she dared as she made her way up the stairs.

Stef and Lena knew for sure then that Callie wasn't just tired, and that there was something much bigger going on that they would have to dig to find out.

"Well she definitely isn't getting away with that" Lena stated.

"No, she sure isn't, no matter how upset she is" Stef responded.

Callie had walked back into her room to find Mariana awake sitting on her bed with her laptop. Mariana noticed that Callie was upset about something, and didn't know whether or not to mention anything.

"Hey" Mariana started. There was no response from Callie. "You okay?" she asked innocently.

"I'm fine" was Callie's reply. With that, she pulled up the covers and turned to face the wall. She noticed a slight sting in her chest, but chose to ignore it. She just wanted this day to be over.

 **That's it for chapter 3! I hope it makes sense and that you enjoyed it! Reviews always welcome. What do you think about how Callie acted out?**


	4. Strong Don't Budge

The next morning, Callie opened her eyes to find the room still dark. _"What time is it? No sun?"_ she thought. She reached over to her nightstand and tapped her phone to check the time. _5:17am_. She rolled back over, still a bit disoriented from sleep. For a few seconds, Callie hadn't remembered anything about her dream, or Stef and Lena, or her small blow up at them; but then it all came crashing back at her. Her eyes opened again as she stared at the wall remembering all the events of the day before, guilt building up in her chest. She chose to ignore it. " _I have to be strong and tough. That's just the way it has to be"_ she convinced herself. Callie tried to get a bit more sleep before it was really time for her to get up, but her thoughts kept her from doing so. When 7:00am rolled around, she turned off her alarm and got ready for the day, running into the other teens in the bathroom brushing their teeth.

"Hey Callie" Jude greeted as he placed toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"Hey. How did you sleep?" she asked.

"I slept okay. I had this really cool dream where I was in this cool robotic machine and I was super tall and got to roam around the town in it!" He responded before bringing the brush to his teeth. At this moment, Jesus also entered the bathroom, hearing the latter part of what Jude said.

"You had a dream that you were super tall?" Jesus asked. "There's so many other things and better things you could dream about than just being tall and walking around town". Jude turned to him, removing his toothbrush saying "No, that I was in a robot suit" as some toothpaste feel from his mouth.

"Eww gross Jude, just brush your teeth!" Mariana stated as she entered the bathroom pulling out her flat iron.

Callie quickly finished rinsing out her mouth and tousled Jude's hair before leaving the bathroom. She took a while sitting in her room pretending to put things in her backpack before heading downstairs. She was trying her best to avoid being downstairs first or second, not wanting to be alone with Stef and Lena. After about 15 minutes, she was the next to last person to be downstairs since Mariana was straightening her hair. She sat down in her spot without making much eye contact. _"I have to keep a straight face and be strong. No budging"_ she told herself. She felt like if her face showed any emotion to the moms that she would appear weak, and that they would try and talk to her.

"Good morning Callie" Lena stated placing a plate in front of her. "I made some eggs, potatoes, and turkey bacon. Eat up, because you know Mariana isn't going to eat much of the eggs or turkey bacon".

Callie looked around at the food that Lena had prepared without moving. She knew that she better eat breakfast, but she couldn't help but think about her birthmother yet again. " _Stef and Lena always make us eat something in the morning, but my mom would be upset that I took their food over hers"_. Callie slowly moved her fingers onto the edge of her plate and pushed it away from her. Everyone at the table was watching her by now.

"Callie, you need to eat something" Stef warned.

Callie turned towards Stef, still with her face free of emotion, and shook her head. Jude was surprised by Callie's boldness and started to get nervous. If there was anything ever off about his sister in the past it usually meant there was something going on, or that Callie was trying to protect them somehow. He placed his fork down on his plate as he tried to hide his visible frown, but it didn't go unnoticed by the moms.

"Jude honey, what's wrong?" Lena asked. "Why aren't you eating anymore?"

"A wonderful breakfast was made, and everyone is going to eat it" Stef pointed out, more towards Callie than towards Jude. Mariana came around the corner and observed what was on the table.

"Eww eggs, I'm not eating that" Mariana declared.

"Don't worry moms, I'm eating" Jesus insisted as he scarfed down some potatoes.

"Me too" Brandon added, swallowing some turkey bacon.

Callie looked toward Jude and gave him a small nod, letting him know it was okay to eat. He was confused, but he cautiously picked up his fork and took a bite. He looked to Lena and explained "Nothing is wrong… I really like the potatoes".

"Well thank you Jude" Lena responded. "It would be even better if your sister had a taste of them too". Both Stef and Lena watched as Callie continued to sit there still.

"Callie, everyone is eating something" Stef stated as she grabbed a scoop of eggs and two slices of bacon and placed them on Callie's plate, staring at her the entire time giving her a visual warning to stop fighting them.

Callie looked down at her plate and knew what she had to do. " _Stong. Don't budge"_ she reminded herself. She grabbed her plate, stood up, and walked over to the trashcan. She looked Stef dead in the eyes, seeing Stef's "Don't you dare" warning on her face, and turned her plate over into the trash. There was an eerie silence in the room, as everyone stopped what they were doing and looked between Callie and the moms. Lena began to tap her fingers on the table with her mouth pursed shut.

"Upstairs. Now." Stef demanded, standing up from her spot. Callie crossed her arms and stayed where she was. She knew that she had gotten herself in big trouble now, but she wanted to make sure that her mom wouldn't be upset at her for accepting Stef and Lena's food and instructions. As Callie stood there, she felt a small ache in the back of her neck, but she wasn't budging. Stef moved over to where Callie was.

" _Now_ " she stressed, pulling Callie's arm as she nudged her up the stairs. They went into Stef and Lena's room, and Stef closed the door.

"Okay, you better tell me what in the world is going on with you missy, or-"

"Or what?" Callie interrupted, still showing no emotion in her face. "Or you're gonna hit me? That's what you brought me up here for" she dared.

Stef paused, sighing and crossing her arms. She knew that in the past, Callie had unfortunately endured things like that, but she also knew that her and Lena made it clear that would never happen in their house. "Callie, you know that we would never do that to you. You know that we would never and will never hurt you. You need to tell me what's going on with you or you will not be participating in your extra-curricular activities until you figure out what it is" Stef explained.

Callie stood there considering finally admitting what was on her mind and how she was feeling the past two days, but her mother's words popped up again: _"You chose them over me?"_ These words were enough to keep her resisting. " _Strong. Don't budge"_ she reminded herself once again.

"Fine. I won't participate in them then" she shrugged as she headed to walk out. Stef stopped her and blocked her from the door.

"That's not it young lady. You need to apologize to mama for the way you disrespected her, and you owe both of us an apology for the way you spoke to us last night. No matter how tired you are, you don't speak to us that way".

The entire time, Callie avoided making eye contact. Her head started to hurt, but she ignored it as she felt Stef's hand gently move her face so she could look at her.

"If there's something that's bothering you, we would love for you to just let it out and talk about it. We love you no matter what, and we hate to see you hurt" Stef pleaded. Callie tried hard to not show anything on her face after she heard Stef's comment. She pulled back from Stef's touch and looked away again.

"Can I go now? I don't want to be late for school…"

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews always welcomed. Really, I love reading them! Let me know what you think about the story, about how Callie's feeling/acting, and how it's affecting everyone else! Will be posting the next chapter soon.**


	5. Conversations

**Chapter 5- Conversations**

 **Thank you all for your reviews! I am really appreciating them! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know if you have any suggestions or anything you want to ask :)**

On what seemed like a very long trip to school, Jude sat and watched Callie as he tried to figure out what was wrong with his sister. She was worrying him with her defiant actions, as anytime she acted this way in the past it was to protect them both. The only thing Jude didn't know was what she was trying to protect them from. Why need protection from Stef and Lena, who had shown nothing but love, security, and support for them?

Jude continued to examine Callie as she lay her head resting on the car window. She sensed he was watching her, so she reached out her hand to hold his. She turned her head towards him and gave a small smile. Jude didn't want to speak, for it had been a silent car ride, and he didn't want to draw attention to them in the back seat. He reached in his backpack at his feet and pulled out a pen and his notebook. Turning to an empty page in the back, he scribbled something down and discretely passed the pen and notebook to Callie after checking to make sure Lena wasn't watching them.

Callie grabbed the notebook and looked down to see the words Jude had written her: " _Are you okay?"_

 _"Yes, I'm fine Jude"_ she wrote back.

 _"Come on Callie, I'm not a little kid anymore. I know you aren't fine. You haven't acted like this in a long time"._ Callie glanced to Jude as he stared at her to see her reaction.

 _"I know baby, but you don't have to worry about me or about anything else. I'm just… I'm just trying to straighten things out the way they're supposed to be"._ Jude looked at Callie curiously for a moment, and then began to write again.

 _"Straighten things out how? Things seem so great with our family. A while ago, we didn't think we could say 'our family' and mean more than just us. How else are things supposed to be?"_

Callie read this statement, sighed, and closed the notebook handing it back to Jude with a sad smile. She looked out the window and saw that they had arrived at school. Once they all got out of the car and started walking towards class, Callie realized she still had Jude's pen. She caught up with him through the crowd and handed it to him.

"Here. And hey, don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine" she reassured placing her hand on his shoulder. Jude slowly took the pen without saying a word, glanced at Callie with one long blink, and then continued on to class.

Before Callie's homeroom class started, Lena pulled Callie out into the hall.

"Let's go to my office" she stated. It was followed with an eye roll and crossed arms, but Callie trailed behind Lena the whole way there.

"Have a seat" Lena pointed toward the couch as she shut the door. After Callie had settled on the couch and took her backpack off, Lena spoke up.

"I know that yesterday was a tough day for you. Even though I don't know why, I hope that the rest of today can be a better one, and that you can talk to us if you need to, no matter what. Whenever the time, or wherever the place, we'll always make time for you".

Callie could feel a lump forming in her throat. She wanted so desperately to share her troubles and what was constantly bugging her about her dream, but she just couldn't shake it. As she stared at the ground and began to chew on the inside of her lip and shake her foot nervously. Lena observed her, and could see that Callie was dealing with some type of internal battle.

"You know you'll feel so much better if you share what's on your mind" Lena mentioned, trying to get through to the teen. Callie was really considering sharing everything she was bottling up, but as she went to open her mouth, her mother's face popped up yet again in her mind. Callie shut her eyes for a moment before speaking _"I have to be faithful to her"_ she thought.

"I'll feel better once I'm back in class" Callie spat. Lena sighed, knowing that Callie wasn't giving up her fight yet.

"Well, mom and I have discussed the consequences of your actions from you raising your voice at us last night, as well as your actions this morning at breakfast. Being disrespectful is not who we are raising you to be"

 _"What about your mother Callie! I gave birth to you and I raised you!"_ echoed in Callie's ears.

"You're grounded for a week. Only school and home" Lena explained.

"You didn't raise me…"

Lena was taken aback at Callie's response. Her heart broke a little from her comment. There was a stinging silence in the room.

"I know that I didn't raise you from a young age" Lena nearly whispered, tears threatening to form. "I know I would if I could".

"You didn't raise me, and you can't punish me" Callie stated, her words shooting out like spears. Just then, the bell rang.

"One week" was all Lena managed to say. Callie stood up, grabbing her backpack in hand and walked out of the office without another word.

On her way down the halls, Callie could feel a sharp pain shoot in her shoulder. She grabbed it, assuming her backpack was too heavy and that was the cause of the pain.

 _"My mom would've been happy that I made sure Lena knew she didn't raise me"_ Callie encouraged herself. " _What else would my mom be happy about?"_ she thought to herself.

Just then, Callie looked towards the beach and saw some people enjoying their time walking the beach and chasing the waves. It was as if the waves were pulling her and calling her out. Callie slipped out an exit and made her way towards the beach, walking down about 2 miles to the other end of the beach …

 **I know this chapter is short, but the next one will be longer. I'm glad to see people are enjoying this so far! Reviews welcome!**


	6. Waves of Escape

**Chapter 6- Waves of Escape**

 **I want to start off by saying thanks so much for all the reviews! Y'all are awesome! Enjoy!**

Callie arrived at the end of the beach about 45 minutes later, where she saw people gathered around near the pier. She saw people selling foods of all sorts as well as tourist activities. She looked towards the end of the pier towards the water and saw people boarding a boat that looked like it could hold up to 20 people or so. Her mind went back to the time she was on a boat with Robert for father's day. " _Those pictures of my mom he had looked like she really enjoyed the water"_ Callie reminded herself. She began to search in her backpack to see how much money she had. She walked up to what looked like the captain of the boat.

"How much for a boat ride?" she asked him.

"Well that depends on if you want the 2 hour ride now, or the 4 hour sunset ride later on today" he told her.

"I kind of want a ride now"

"The two hour boat ride costs $30. On this trip you may see dolphins and other fish that like to pop out of the water every now and then. We also have starfish for you to see and pet from the earlier boat tour" he explained.

Callie pulled out the money she had. "I have $25 dollars. Any I can still ride? I've always wanted to ride on a boat" she lied. The captain observed Callie for a moment before answering.

"Well, I suppose since you seem like a struggling college student. I remember those days, but not too well. It only lasted one semester for me before I dropped out. Too hard and too much money".

Callie smiled as she handed him the money and found her spot on the boat. She watched the waves as the captain went over rules and safety procedures. Callie's mind was more preoccupied with what Stef and Lena would think if they found out what she was doing. _"I guess I am technically grounded"_ Callie reminded herself as she remembered her conversation with Lena earlier. She shrugged it off and reached her hand up to her necklace as the boat engine started.

Back at the school, Lena anxiously awaited for Stef's visit to have an early lunch. By now third period was close to ending. She heard a knock at the door and knew it was Stef.

"Come on in" she beamed.

Stef opened the door with a smile and some soups and sandwiches for the both of them. They began to converse, and the topic of Callie popped up early into the lunch.

"So I talked with Callie this morning" Lena began.

"Really? Did you figure out what's going on with her?" Stef eagerly asked.

"No. She looked like she really wanted to tell me but didn't. It's like there was some sort of internal battle going on. I reminded her that she could tell us anything whenever or wherever and that we would make time for her"

"That's good. She needs to be reminded of that. I spoke with her- well, tried to speak with her this morning, and she said something that might be a clue to what's been up with her. I brought her up to the room and she mentioned something about me bringing her upstairs to hit her…"

A small frown formed on Lena's face. Her heart still broke for kids, and she knew that all the struggles of their lives before they became family couldn't be easily erased. "When I told her about her punishment, she said I couldn't punish her" Lena explained. Stef's face displayed confusion. "Well, I told her that being disrespectful is not the way that you and I are raising her to be, and she told me that I didn't raise her, so I couldn't punish her" Lena explained, feeling hurt again at the memory of Callie's words.

Stef nodded her head in understanding. "I think whatever is going on with her has something to do with or is in some way related to the past. The comments she's made, the screaming at us, not taking my hug yesterday morning- I think they're all connected" Stef hypothesized. Lena sat there for a moment thinking about Stef's point.

"That means it'll make it even harder for us to get her to open up so we can try and help" Lena noted.

"How do we deal with her for now? I know that she's grounded, but that doesn't mean that she won't still misbehave" Stef pointed out.

"I guess we'll just have to show as much love as we can through it all. Let her know that no matter what she does…"

"…we'll love her regardless" Stef finished. They continued their meal as Lena checked her email.

"Oh look, finally attendance came in. I mean come on people, it's not that hard to send in attendance when you finish calling roll" Lena complained. Stef couldn't help but chuckle. Lena's complaints and jokes soon ceased, and a look of concern spread across her face.

"What's wrong?" Stef asked.

"I'm looking at the attendance for first and second period for the classes Callie is in, and she isn't counted for…" Lena explained. Stef pulled out her phone.

"I'll check the tracking app. If she's near the school, we'll know right away" Stef confirmed.

"I'm emailing those two teachers to see if Callie was in class… maybe it was a mistake" Lena assured. Stef's face didn't show any confirmation that Callie was in the building.

"Dang it. Her phone is either off or dead…" Stef responded.

"Neither of the teachers saw her today…" Lena added. They both knew that there was a good chance that Callie had left the school building and was off who knows where.

Callie's hair was blowing in the sea breeze, as she looked out. She definitely couldn't see any land and knew that they were a bit ways out. She pulled out her phone to take a picture of the waves. Before placing her phone back in her pocket, she looked at the time, and saw "no service" at the top of her phone. Callie grabbed her mother's necklace she was wearing and imagined her mom sitting in the seat next to her smiling. _"I know my mom would be happy now. I'm doing a better job at showing that I haven't forgotten about her"_ Callie thought. She felt an uneasiness in her chest, also feeling bad for not listening to Stef and Lena. _"Moms will- I mean Stef and Lena will understand someday"_ Callie persuaded herself. She was mad at herself for still referring to Stef and Lena as "moms" in her head. _"They're not like my mom"_ she tried to convince herself.

She felt the boat begin to turn back, and she knew she had another hour left to feel close to her mom. She couldn't help but think about how much trouble she would be in when she got back, but she believed it would be worth it to make her mom happy.

Once she arrived back on the shore, she was lost with what to do next. She looked at her phone for the time and also saw 11 missed calls and 23 text messages all from her moms, and one from Mariana. She scrolled through the texts.

 _Where are you? I didn't see you in the hallway like I usually do. I thought we were supposed to meet up before lunch. –Mariana_

 _Please answer your phone -Lena_

 _Callie this is mom. Where are you love? We need to know that you are safe and are coming back to the school._

Callie placed her phone back in her pocket before sighing and kicking the sand as she wandered the pier. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two cops near a nearby ice cream stand. She tried to hide in the crowd before they noticed her, but little did she know that they noticed her first when she was walking off of the pier and were calling Stef.

"Hello?" Stef answered, calling in earlier to search for Callie.

"Hey Adams Foster. Mike said you weren't coming in today because your kid was missing, right?" the cop said as he stepped out of the line to try and follow Callie from a distance.

"Yeah, has anyone heard of anything or seen anything?" Stef pleaded desperately.

"I think I may see her now. I think I remember seeing her from your pictures on your desk. Looks about 5'6, brown eyes and dark brown hair that's a bit curly?" he asked. "She seems to have a light brown backpack as well".

"Yes, that sounds like her" Stef said relieved. "Where are you?"

"I'm down at the pier on the end of the beach. Anchor beach I think it's called. I'm trying to keep up with her through the crowd" the cop reported.

"I'm on my way. Hold her off if you can. She may run" Stef explained.

"Thanks for the info. See you soon" the cop ended the call.

Callie looked around to see if the cop was still following her. He noticed and ducked down to hide himself. She began to walk slower, thinking that she had escaped. The cop caught up with her and walked up beside her.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in school?" The cop presented. Callie's eyes grew wide as she tried to walk away. He gently grabbed her arm and said "Let's go talk over here to the side". There, his partner was waiting for him with ice creams in hand.

"So why aren't you in school" he asked.

Callie's heart began to pound. She wondered if he knew Stef or if Stef was in on what was happening. "Well, I don't have class for another hour and a half. My professor wanted us to come and get some pictures for our assignment" she explained, building lies on top of each other.

"You don't look like you're in college" the cop stated. "Let me see your college I.D."

Callie knew she was caught, but pretended to search in her wallet for a few moments anyways. "Oh man, it looks like I left it back in my dorm room…"

The cops looked at each other and decided to play along. "Bummer. Well what about your driver's license? You have to have that on you".

Callie swallowed a lump in her throat as she knew that her license would clearly give away her age as well as her new last name, which the cops were sure to recognize. "You know, I actually think I left that back at the dorm too. I rode here with a friend who I lost in the crowd earlier, I was on my way to find them".

The cops laughed and shook their heads. "Oh man, your mom sure has her hands full with you kid." Callie froze at their statement, and she realized the cops knew who she was. See saw another cop car pull up and Stef hop out of it. She knew she was in more trouble now, but she had to act like it didn't bother her.

Stef thanked the cops as they walked off with their melted ice cream. "What in the world were you thinking Callie? You scared mama and I half to death!" Stef began. Callie kept her eyes from revealing any feelings, although she felt nervous, relieved, and tired.

"Callie you know that you cannot just walk out of school like that. What if there was an emergency at the school and you were missing and no one could find you? What are you doing all the way down at this end of the beach anyways?" Stef tried to get through to her daughter. Callie remained silent, not looking at Stef.

"Look at me love" Stef asked. Callie glanced at Stef for a moment and saw concern on Stef's face before looking away again. "I know you've had a hard couple days, but you can't just run away from this. You can talk to mama and I about whatever is bothering you, and we know that something is. We are always here for you no matter what" Stef explained.

Callie looked back up at Stef, remembering the dream again all too well with Stef and Lena saying those words to her. "No…" Callie responded after a moment of silence.

"No what love?"

"You're _not_ my mom"

Callie began to run off after that statement.

"Not this time baby…" Stef said chasing after her.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What do you think will happen next? I'm loving where this is going, and I hope you are too.**


	7. Fighting For Love

**Chapter 7- Fighting for Love**

 **Hey everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I'll leave you with the last few lines from the last chapter since it was a cliff hanger:** ** _"You're not my mom". Callie began to run off after that statement. "Not this time baby…" Stef said chasing after her._**

Callie was running from the pier towards the parking lot area. Stef ran to catch up with her, and started to get worried as Callie was more than a few strides ahead of her in an active parking lot.

"Callie stop!" Stef yelled, scanning the parking lot for any moving or reversing cars. Callie was running as fast as she could and wasn't paying attention to any of the details Stef was. Suddenly a car started backing up as Callie rushed forward.

"CALLIE WATCH OUT!" Stef screamed, picking up the pace.

Callie tried her best to slow down and move out of the way, and she ended up tripping just as the car stopped reversing. Stef's heart dropped down into her stomach as she saw how dangerously close Callie was to either getting hit by the car or getting run over. Stef had caught up with Callie, and motioned to the driver to not move. She bent down and pulled Callie up and out of the way, scanning her for any injuries.

"Oh my gosh! Callie baby! Are you okay? You can't just run off like that, I just told you that you scared mama and I half to death!" Stef stood there with her hands holding tightly onto Callie's upper arms.

Callie remained there silent, and a bit in shock. "Come on baby let's go sit down on the bench near the grass. It looks like you've got a scrape on your arm".

Stef lead Callie past the car as she waved them off. They got over to the bench and Stef led Callie to sit down. "Let me look at your arm love" Stef began, reaching to look at the inner part of Callie's arm where she tried to stop herself from falling.

"No!" Callie shouted, beginning to tear up. "I'm fine, just leave me alone!" Callie's wrist and arm were stinging from the graze against the pavement, as well as her knee, but she didn't want to show that she needed help in any way.

Stef hurt from Callie's words, but she knew that it was the hurt version of Callie who she was speaking to; the Callie that was stuck in the past of whatever had been bothering her the past couple days.

"Callie I'm not just going to leave you alone to hurt. I'm _never_ going to purposely just leave you" Stef assured.

Tears streamed down Callie's face as she continued to fight Stef trying to get up from the bench. "No, leave me alone! I already told you I'm fine!"

Stef grabbed Callie's waist and pulled her back in, careful to not hurt her in case she had any other injuries.

"I'm not gonna let you go baby" Stef confirmed as she held Callie in her arms and pulled her into her.

"No, stop! I don't need you! You're not my mom! Stop it, I don't need you!" Callie screamed trying to pull away from Stef's grasp while continuing to cry.

"Let me go, I said stop! You're not going to always be there for me!" Callie continued. Stef wasn't planning on letting Callie go no matter what she said to try and get Stef away. Other people nearby were staring, but didn't question a teenager being held by someone in a cop uniform.

"It's okay Callie, I got you. I got you, I'm not letting go. You don't have to fight me anymore" Stef reassured. Callie stopped trying to free herself, and she surely didn't have the energy. She hadn't eaten anything that day. She sunk into Stef crying. Stef continued to hold her and rub her back, rocking her back and forth. A few tears fell from Stef's eyes. She felt for each one of her kids whenever they were hurting, and she knew that all she could do for Callie in this moment was love her, regardless of the fact that she left school and ran off.

Once Callie calmed down a bit, Stef spoke up. "Let's go to the car. I have a first aid kit in there".

Stef still had her police cruiser since she had only called into work after she found out Callie was missing. Stef walked Callie over where she had left her car when arriving at the pier. Stef opened the hatchback and had Callie sit on the edge of the trunk while she applied Neosporin to the inside of Callie's arm.

The whole time, Callie sat there silent, eyes still red from crying. She finally spoke up as Stef peeled back the wrapper from the bandage.

"You don't have to do this" she admitted, feeling ashamed of her actions earlier.

"I know I don't have to…" Stef replied. "…but I want to". Once she finished placing the Band-Aid on, she looked at Callie, who had her head hung down low. Stef gently placed her hand under Callie's chin and raised her head to look her in the eyes. Callie looked back, exhaustion evident all over her face. Stef gave her a small smile and leaned in to kiss her head. "I love you Bug" Stef stated, knowing to not expect a reply back from Callie at this moment. They both got in the car, and Stef text Lena letting her know what had happened.

 _"Hey Lena, I found Callie. She was on the other end of the beach near the pier. I'll tell you the full story in detail later, but I'm going to take her home for the rest of the day. She looks exhausted. See you when you get home"._

Stef shut off her phone and started the car. The whole ride home, Callie was silent, reflecting on everything that had just happened. Once they got home, Callie went straight upstairs to sleep. She truthfully was exhausted emotionally and from the stress she was enduring.

Stef came up the stairs a few hours later since Callie hadn't eaten yet to see if she wanted anything. She knocked on her bedroom door, and after she didn't receive a reply she peeked in to find a peaceful looking Callie. Stef couldn't help but place her hand on her chest and silently "Aww". She walked over and slowly sat on the edge of the bed. She ran her fingers through Callie's hair to gently wake her up. She spoke when she saw Callie stirring.

"Hey love. You aren't gonna sleep tonight if you sleep any longer. It's already 3:00"

Callie kept her eyes closed, and sighed. She rubbed her eyes, and then went to scratch her arm, not realizing that's where the bandage from earlier was.

"Careful. Don't scratch there" Stef instructed, placing her hand over the bandage. Callie then opened her eyes and tried to look at what was itching her. She looked at Stef and suddenly remembered the events of earlier that day, and her face showed it. Stef gave Callie a sad smile before trying to distract her.

"I know you didn't really eat lunc- well, anything today. You must be starving" Stef spoke. Callie lay there also remembering that she in fact did not have breakfast, and that she dumped it in the trash.

"How about I go order us some pizza, huh?" Stef recommended. "I'll get the delivery number in the drawer downstairs" she continued patting Callie's knee before getting up.

Callie had tried her best to hide her reaction to the pain in her knee when Stef pat it, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"You okay?" Stef asked concerned.

Callie nodded and cleared her throat before answering. "Yeah, just startled me". Stef paused for a moment and took Callie's answer.

Once Stef had left the room, Callie got up and headed into the bathroom. She pulled up her pants leg and revealed a very large bruise on her knee that had formed when she fell in the parking lot. Callie touched it and yanked her hand away from the pain.

She rolled her pants leg back down and observed herself in the mirror. A big part of her felt relieved that she had let out some stress and built up emotion. She was glad she got to rest in Stef's arms in the park, and that she woke up to Stef stroking her hair. She was loved feeling loved. Another part of her felt bad and upset that she broke so easily and so quickly. _"I should've been stronger. I need to try something else…"_ she told herself.

 **That's it for this chapter. Looks like Callie isn't done putting up a fight! What do you guys think will happen next?**


	8. Porch-Swing Wisdom

**Chapter 8- Porch-swing Wisdom**

 **Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I am nearing the end of the story and won't be dragging it out, maybe one or two chapters more. You'll get a lot of the answers you've been wanting, like Callie's chest pains, and when/how Callie will open up to the moms.**

Soon after Callie and Stef finished eating their pizza, the rest of the kids got home. Stef was catching Lena up on the events of their day while Lena was preparing dinner. Everyone in the house was doing their own thing, from homework to practice and video games.

Jude had finished his homework and made his way downstairs to grab a snack. He slowed his pace down and stood at the edge of the stairs quiet when he heard Stef talking about Callie.

"You should've seen her Lena… she had just fallen and nearly got plummeted by that car, yet when I tried to help her she was fighting back and trying to run off again"

Lena shook her head in disbelief. "Really? Oh my gosh I know that must've been tough for you" she replied.

"Yeah, but of course I wasn't going to let her run off. She was pushing against me and yelling 'Stop, I don't need you' over and over again" Stef explained. "I think whatever is bothering her has something to do with that as well as issues from the past"

"I know…" Lena replied. "She would feel so much better if she just opened up".

Jude sighed, worrying about his sister. He turned to go back upstairs and saw Callie sitting on the porch swing on the front porch. He tip toed over to not draw attention to himself, and quietly stepped outside. Callie looked up and greeted her brother.

"Hey" she said. She was sitting with legs criss crossed, messing with a small stick. Jude looked at her, and then looked down at the ground. Callie pat the spot next to her, and Jude followed through with her invitation. The two sat there quiet for a while until Jude broke the silence.

"I heard what happened today…" Callie glanced at him, worried if he knew the whole story, a bit embarrassed. "I don't know why you are acting like you did this morning at breakfast and in the car, because you really aren't fine" he continued.

Callie continued to mess with the stick in her hands and sighed before answering. "I… I guess it's complicated" she replied.

"Well anything that's complicated can't be dealt with alone, and I know that's what you're trying to do, because that's what you've always done. You would hate it if there was something big bothering me and I didn't tell you…" Callie nodded her head slowly, thinking about how protective she was of her little brother.

"Well yeah, you're my little brother. I always want to know that you're okay, and if you're not I would want to try and help you out. That's my job" Callie explained.

"Exactly. Moms are thinking the same thing" he stated. Callie looked at Jude, trying to follow. "You look out for me all the time, and that's great, but when it comes to yourself, you need someone to look out for you. That's what moms are doing; that's their job for all of us, and they even have people that look out for them. They're trying to help you, and you're leaving them feeling like they haven't done their job, just like if I was really bothered about something and I didn't tell you; you would feel like you weren't doing a good job and probably feel bad."

Callie sat there, slowly nodding her head before turning back towards her stick. "I guess you're right… You know, you don't seem like the little brother I know!" Callie joked. "When did you become so wise?" she asked smiling, placing her arm around his shoulder.

Jude chuckled and responded, "I learned exactly what not to do from you" he joked.

Callie playfully nudged him away, replying "Oh shut up! You know you learned the best things from me".

Jude stood up laughing and stated "Oh, you're right. Now I've learned that I can say 'shut up' to anyone I want!"

Callie dropped her jaw pretending to be offended, and threw her stick at Jude, who tried to dodge it and rushed inside, shouting back "I'm learning to do that too!"

Callie couldn't help but laugh at Jude's jokes. She really did want to be a good example to him for what to do in different situations. She looked at the front yard remembering her dream yet again, feeling a headache come on. She thought about Jude and decided that it was time to tell Stef and Lena what had been bothering her. _"I won't let the night get past me without talking to them"_ she promised herself.

After dinner Callie finished helping Jude with the dishes. They both headed upstairs and Jude saw Callie pause once they got to the top of the staircase. He could tell that she was contemplating something, and she looked nervous. He reached over and grabbed her hand to show that he was supporting her. She looked down at him and smiled, hugging him. They were about to walk separate ways when Jude called Callie.

"Hey"

Callie turned to look at him, trying to figure out what other wisdom would come out of his mouth.

"Once you get it out, it'll be like the feeling we had at the playground: freedom and not a care in the world" he explained. Callie smiled and nodded her head, remembering how much fun Sunday was for everyone. She gave him a thumbs up as he walked to his room.

Callie walked up to the master bedroom door that was slightly open, but cracked just enough to where Stef and Lena couldn't see if someone was outside their door. She lifted her hand up to knock, but pulled it back quickly. Her headache intensified, and she took a deep breath before finally knocking.

"Come in" Lena's voice rang as Callie hesitantly opened the door…

Callie walked in, surprising Lena and Stef. They smiled at Callie inviting her further into the room.

"What's up Bug" Stef asked, hoping that Callie would reveal something; anything that was trapped in her mind the past couple of days. Callie sighed. She placed her foot on the edge of the bed, looking towards Stef and Lena. They both looked back at her, puzzled with what she was doing. Callie grabbed the bottom of her pant leg and pulled it up hesitantly, revealing the giant bruise that had formed from her fall earlier that day. Lena gasped, observing the blue and purple tint.

"Oh man, that's a big one. Let me get some ice to help stop the swelling" Stef stated as she moved to get the ice pack from the fridge. She returned quickly and instructed Callie to sit on the edge of the bed. She placed the ice pack softly on Callie's knee, and Callie jerked back squinting her face.

"Oh, I know it hurts love, but this will help" Stef explained. Stef waved Lena over, and they sat on both sides of Callie.

"We appreciate you sharing this with us Callie" Lena complimented, rubbing Callie's back softly.

"Yes, like mama and I have said before, we are here for you anytime for whatever you need" Stef reminded her.

Callie looked between the both of them and took a deep breath. She knew it was time to share what was on her heart…

 **Aaaaand we'll pick up on the next chapter :) I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story, and it's about time Callie opens up! Also (on a side note) Merry Christmas!**


	9. Chipping Away

**Chapter 9- Chipping Away**

 **Hey guys! This will be the next to last chapter. I hope you enjoy! Placing the last line form the last chapter to help you catch up:** ** _Callie looked between the both of them and took a deep breath. She knew it was time to share what was on her heart…_**

Callie cleared her throat to speak for the first time. All that she managed to say was "I…I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what doll?" Stef asked, slowly repositioning the ice pack on Callie's knee.

"For being so hard to deal with…" she explained, not being able to get out everything she wanted to say. This was hard for her, and both Stef and Lena knew it.

"You aren't hard to deal with Callie. Today you may not have been the safest, but that's why we're here to help guide you, and we wouldn't have it any other way" Lena admitted, with Stef nodding her head as well. They could both see that Callie was trying her best to say something, but she was struggling.

"What is it sweetheart?" Stef asked patiently.

Callie shook her head and admitted, "I don't know how to start…"

"Well that's okay, we can try and help. Let's take it one thing at a time" Lena stated. Callie nodded and took a deep breath. "Why did you leave school today?" Lena asked.

Callie didn't know how to answer, but she tried her best. "Well I saw the beach and I didn't feel like going to class I guess…"

"Why didn't you feel like going to class?" Stef asked, trying to break down the complicated day.

Callie sat and thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, I know you didn't eat breakfast, so I know your concentration wasn't all there" Lena added, trying to help.

Callie nodded and hung her head, feeling ashamed of her actions at breakfast. "Yeah… I'm sorry for throwing away your food this morning"

Lena patted Callie on the back. "I'm not mad at you Callie. I wish you were a little more respectful about it if you weren't hungry. It's not like you to skip breakfast though".

"I know, I just…" Callie was at a loss for words. She stayed quiet as she tried to find a way to say that she really did want to eat, but pride and her belief that her mother would be mad at her for accepting other people's food were not easy to explain.

"Great job trying Callie" Stef encouraged as she placed the ice pack to the side. "Let's talk about some definites though, those are easier to address. Earlier today when I brought you in here to talk with you, you mentioned something about me bringing you up here to hit you…"

Callie kept her head hung low, not wanting to hear her words from earlier. Stef gently placed her hand under Callie's chin, raising her head to look in her daughter's eyes. At this point Stef could see that Callie was trying her best to hold back tears.

"I'm so _so_ sorry that you had to endure things like that in the past. It's so unfair and I wish would never happen to anyone. I know I told you this earlier, but me and mama want to remind you again that we would _never_ intentionally hurt you like that"

"Never _ever_ " Lena added.

They both knew that sometimes when kids were hurt so often in the past, it was hard for them to determine the difference between accidental injuries and intentional ones. Stef wanted to be sure that Callie knew the difference.

"You know that earlier when I put the ice bag on your knee that I wasn't intentionally trying to hurt you, yes?" Stef asked. Callie nodded with tears now flowing freely.

Stef placed her arm around Callie and pulled her in for a side hug. "Did you really believe that I was going to hurt you earlier? she whispered.

Callie wiped some tears away as she shook her head no. "Okay, good" Stef responded relieved.

"And don't think for a second that we ever will" Lena confirmed.

They both gave Callie a moment to wipe the rest of her tears before Lena broke the silence, now holding Callie like Stef was a moment ago. "Do you think whatever you're dealing with has to do with something from the past?" Lena asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

Callie began to get fidgety. Lena released Callie from the hug, giving her some space. They sat there for a solid two minutes, and the moms were very patient, knowing that this was most likely the root of everything Callie had done the past two days.

"I didn't…. I just didn't want to make her mad anymore" Callie admitted, messing the hem of her shirt.

Lena and Stef looked at each other, trying to see if the other knew what Callie was referring to. With both receiving a puzzling look from the other in return, Stef decided to ask.

"Didn't want to make who mad anymore love?"

"M… My mom". Callie stiffened up at the memory of her mom's angry response in her dream.

"Oh sweetheart, I don't think your mom is mad at you. I know she loved you" Lena tried to comfort Callie.

"Yes she is" Callie admitted standing up. "She told me how could I forget about her, and that I used to need her, and now I don't. She is so disappointed in me…" Callie stated, breaking down.

Stef knew that Callie couldn't stand much longer, and she got up to catch her. "Your knee love. Don't drop to the floor" She pulled Callie into her, leading her back a couple steps over to the edge of the bed. Both Lena and Stef held Callie, allowing her to get it all out. After a moment Lena let go and moved over to get some tissue for Callie, who accepted some and wiped her nose.

"When did this happen?" Stef asked, trying to figure out if this was another part of Callie's past they didn't know about.

"…The night when we got back from the park" Callie admitted, realizing the statement didn't make sense. With tears still rolling, she decided to explain

"I had a dream that Jude and I were younger again, and that we were living with you two. We came back from eating ice cream, and all of a sudden I was stuck on the roof on the house about to fall off. I called you, and you guys stepped in and caught me, and said that you would always be there for me".

Callie paused for a moment, continuing to wipe tears away. Lena rubbed her back for support.

"Then once you put me down, you guys and Jude were gone, and my mom was standing in the front yard… She was upset that I didn't ask for her help, that I had forgotten about her, and that I had abandoned her. She started screaming at me when I tried to apologize… she was mad that I couldn't even say goodbye to her" Callie broke down again, with Stef and Lena putting the pieces together.

They laid Callie back on the bed, lying down on both sides of her. Callie was embraced by the both of them. "I just didn't want her to be mad anymore." She repeated.

"You felt like you needed to show her that you didn't need anyone else" Stef added. Callie nodded her head, wiping the tear that fell towards her ear since she was lying down.

"I'm sorry I said I didn't need you back in the parking lot. That's not what I meant…" Callie apologized.

"No worries sweets, I knew that you didn't mean it. You did give me a quite a workout though with me chasing you and trying to hold onto you. All I'm saying is I better have some killer calves and biceps when I wake up" Stef stated trying to lighten the mood a bit, but Callie didn't smile.

"You know Callie" Lena began, "I know that your mom wouldn't be mad or disappointed at you for needing someone else, or for identifying someone else as family too". Callie sniffled as she tried to understand what Lena meant.

"Yeah love, that's the thing about life; you start out with a definition of 'family' as just your parents and siblings, and then it expands and grows to make more room for the people you meet in life. You hang out with aunts, uncles and cousins and make even more room. Then you find a spouse and have kids and it grows and grows" Stef helped explain.

"Yup. And then those siblings have kids too, and you make more room for your nieces and nephews and all your in-laws" Lena added.

"Then grandkids come and you grow even more room! That's not even including all the people in your life that aren't related to you, but feel like family!"

Callie had stopped crying by now and was starting to think about her circle of "family" and how it's grown greatly. "It even grows for pets too?" Callie asked.

"Of course!" Stef and Lena replied, thinking about their family circles as well. "You have this family that gets bigger and bigger, and you can show love for all of them" Lena mentioned.

"If you think about it, all you kids technically have more than the standard 'two parents'. Brandon has three, Jesus and Mariana have four, and you have… like five or so" Stef explained with a chuckle at the end. Callie smirked, almost laughing at the thought of her and Jude having five parents.

Lena jumped in again. "The good part is, you can love all of them, and that's perfectly okay. It's worse when you try and shut others out. No one is going to be mad that you are loving and depending on another one."

Callie smiled and nodded, understanding. She placed her hand on her forehead and winced.

"You okay Callie? Does something else hurt?" Lena asked.

"Yeah, I got a headache earlier today… plus my chest has been hurting since yesterday. My shoulder also started hurting today" she explained.

"When did all of this start? Lena asked. "You didn't seem to be hurting on Sunday.

"No, it didn't start until yesterday… although my shoulder isn't hurting, and my chest just stopped hurting a couple of minutes ago maybe" Callie recognized.

"Hmm… I used to experience this as well" Stef admitted. "Those are some physical side effects of stress love" Stef informed. "When you try to deal with everything all by yourself and carry it around, your body takes a beating. Building up your walls instead of letting someone in doesn't help you; walls only hurt"

Callie looked to Stef, taking what she said as true. She did feel worse these past couple days since trying to handle everything by herself.

"Do you understand what we mean Bug?" Lena asked. Callie nodded, feeling relieved she let out what was bothering her. She wasn't experiencing any internal conflicts or feeling like she wasn't being strong enough.

Stef leaned in and kissed Callie on the temple. "We love you so much Callie". Lena joined, kissing Callie on the other temple. "Yes, so so so much, and that will never change".

"I love you guys too. Thank you mama, and thank you mom for always helping me" Callie shared.

"Oh, it's so nice to hear those words again" Stef said.

Lena leaned in and snuggled Callie, whispering "I love it when you call us mama and mom" with a smile.

"Me too" Stef admitted, running her fingers through Callie's hair.

Callie smiled wide "I love it when you guys do stuff like snuggle me and play with me hair".

"Noted" Stef answered, both her and Stef enjoying having their daughter back.


	10. Making Room

**Chapter 10- Making Room**

 **Hey guys! This will be the last chapter! I'm so glad everyone has enjoyed this story and I would love your final reviews on any way I can improve my writing or something else you wish you could've seen. Anyways, here you go!**

Stef was the first to wake up in the morning. She opened her eyes to see an extra person in their bed, and when she saw Callie, the events of last night played through her mind. She then remembered that Callie had fallen asleep there, and they decided to not wake her or move her. She reached over and began to run her fingers through Callie's hair again, seeing her smiling face in her mind. " _I love it when you guys do stuff like snuggle me and play with my hair"_ Stef remembered.

She leaned over and kissed the sleeping Callie on her temple, rolling back over and closing her eyes. Callie began to stir once she no longer felt anyone playing with her hair. Stef looked over and placed her hand back in Callie's hair, and she settled immediately. Stef found this peculiar and moved her hand away to see what Callie would do. After a couple of moments, Callie's hand started patting the bed, searching for the source of her comfort. She found Stef's hand and gave it a sleepy nudge towards her hair. Stef busted out laughing, trying her best to keep her laugh silent. _"I can't believe this spoiled girl is searching for my hand in her sleep"_ she thought. She rubbed her fingers through Callie's hair again, smiling at her daughter's sleepy mannerisms.

Once breakfast had started and all of the kids were at the table, Stef came downstairs dressed for work.

"Good morning everyone" she greeted.

Everyone acknowledged Stef as they scarfed down their breakfast before school.

"Hurry up guys! I got a meeting with the robotics club before school" Mariana rushed.

"Oh yeah…" Jesus mentioned.

"Ugh Jesus I don't know what you'd do without me" Mariana stated as she shook her head.

"I just remembered all the homework I have to catch up on" Callie said, placing her hand on her forehead. Lena was nearby and hugged her from behind.

"Hey Cals, remember you have to keep your stress levels down sweetie. Still hurting?" She asked, referring to Callie's headache from the day before. Callie shook her head no.

"Well that's good" Stef mentioned. "And don't worry Miss Thing, I'm sure you'll get to school in time"

Everyone was grabbing their things and heading out the door. Stef was standing there, getting her usual goodbye hugs and kisses. Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus had already gotten out of the door, and Callie was next. She ran over to Stef, who had been looking out the door at Brandon and Jesus rough housing in the car over who knows what. She turned around just in time to see Callie speeding towards her.

"Woah there" Stef said surprised, bracing herself.

Callie wrapped both arms around her and squeezed tight. "Thank you so much mom. I love you"

Stef couldn't help but smile at Callie's words and actions. She knew that Callie and let her walls back down again and was allowing everyone in. The best part about it was the way she was showing love to each and every person that morning; from the way she placed the plates out for the others before they got downstairs, to the way she poured Lena a glass of orange juice, and how she made Mariana's bed for her while she was brushing her teeth.

"I love you too baby. So so so much" Stef squeezed her back. "I love how you're making room in your heart for everyone" she whispered.

Callie looked up at Stef and smiled, still holding onto her. They heard a honk from the car and looked over.

"Come on people! The meeting!" Mariana yelled.

Stef and Lena looked at each other and chuckled, as did Lena who was still putting on her shoes.

"Have a great day Bug!" Stef yelled as Callie ran over to the car. Jude grabbed his backpack and was the last one heading out the door.

"Hey Jude! Have a great day at school. I love you" Stef said as she reached to hug him. He hugged her back tightly as well, and motioned for Lena to come join.

"Well alright, but quickly Bud, we gotta head to school" Lena reminded. They all squeezed each other, and as they released, Jude spoke.

"Thank you for getting me my sister back. I really missed her" Jude thanked. Stef and Lena both smiled at Jude, and Stef rustled his hair.

"We're glad she's back to her wonderful, loving self too" she mentioned. The car honked yet again.

"The meeting people! Let's go!" Mariana shouted, threatening to get out of the car and drag the three of them out the house. They all chuckled and headed off to school and work.

On the ride there, Jude pulled out his notebook and pencil again and wrote a note to Callie, much like he had done earlier in the week.

 _"Welcome back_ " Callie read it and playfully rolled her eyes, peeking over at Jude who was smiling.

 _"I never left, just isolated myself is all"_ she wrote back.

 _"More things I'm learning to do from my big sister…"_ he teased. She playfully pinched Jude on the arm, getting him back for his smart comments the day before as well.

"Ow, stop" Jude laughed as he nudged Callie towards the window.

Lena looked in her rear view mirror to make sure whatever was going on wasn't major. "Everyone alright back there?"

"Yes mama, we're good" Callie answered. Lena smiled and nodded her head as she turned the corner with the school in sight. She looked back into the rear view mirror again and smiled seeing Jude placing his finger near Mariana's ear, with Callie trying her best to hold in her laugh…

 **That's the end of the story! I hope the ending was good. Thanks so much for reading, all the favorites, and all the reviews. I appreciate them. Until next time, lots of love!**


End file.
